


Best Bros and Bro Bros

by pinegreenapples



Series: Modern AU [3]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Gen, Gilan and Will are coffee addicts pass it on, Gilan and Will are the bestest of bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 21:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10290719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinegreenapples/pseuds/pinegreenapples
Summary: Will looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “Is something the matter?” he asked.Horace took a few seconds to compose himself, during all of which he made frantic gestures towards the living room. “There’s some weird dude sleeping on your couch!”“What?” Will recoiled.“I said, there’s-”“No, I heard what you said.” Will stepped forward towards the living room.





	

“ CAUSE YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE I COULD BE DRIVING YOU ALL NIGHT AND I’LL FIND YOUR LIPS IN THE STREET LIGHTS.” Horace belted along to the radio as he drove down the peaceful suburban street. He could see Will try not to break out into full blown laughter beside him. “OH BABY TAKE ME TO THE FEELING I’LL BE YOUR SINNER IN SECRET.”

Horace took the brief pause at the stoplight as a moment for something one could perhaps interpret as dancing. It involved a lot of strange arm waving and head shaking, always a beat behind the tempo of the song.

“You, Horace Altman, are something else.” Will said, a fond smile in place. His voice barely cut through the exuberant bass and saxophone of the song.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Horace turned into Will’s neighborhood and then pulled into his driveway. He turned to his smaller companion and held out his car keys. “Keys?”

Will took Horace’s car keys and gave him his house key then got out to pull his recurve bow out of the back seat.

Horace got out of the car. As always with Will’s front door, it took a few seconds of jimmying to open up. Once inside, Horace made a beeline for the kitchen. He peered inside the fridge and fist pumped as he noticed there was still some roast beef left over from the weekend. He pulled it out and began to make a sandwich. 

Will came in a few minutes later as Horace took a gigantic bite. “I see you found the roast beef.” Horace grinned to give Will the full effect. 

“Nice. Thanks for sharing.” 

“Emydwime.” Horace said and gave a thumbs up.

Will shook his head and moved towards the coffee pot. “Do want coffee?”

Horace nodded and then swallowed. “Yeah, I’ll get set up in the living room so we can start on our project right away.” He backed away into the living room and took another huge bite of his sandwich. He dropped his backpack next to the couch and walked around to the front of it. 

Horace choked on his sandwich. There was some strange dude sleeping on Will’s couch! And  _ of course _ Horace was right in front of him trying not to die from a rogue piece of meat. Horace valiantly struggled in silence to avoid waking this potential axe murderer and hurried back to the kitchen. He was still a little choked up when he reached Will.

Will looked at him with one eyebrow raised. “Is something the matter?” he asked.

Horace took a few seconds to compose himself, during all of which he made frantic gestures towards the living room. “There’s some weird dude sleeping on your couch!”

“What?” Will recoiled.

“I said, there’s-”

“No, I heard what you said.” Will stepped forward towards the living room.

“I smell coffee.”

Horace yelped and bounded forward, turning to face the new voice directly behind him. It was the man Horace had seen on the couch. His hair was tousled and he was still wrapped in a blanket.

“It’s him!” Horace hissed at Will. Will looked at Horace as if he had grown two heads and one of them spit acid.

“Gilan? What’re doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back until next week.” Will was walking towards this ‘Gilan’ now.

‘Gilan’ laughed. “Yeah, I forgot that this is technically my reading week so I got to come home earlier than I thought I would.”

Will  _ hugged  _ ‘Gilan’. Horace raised his eyebrows, what was his best friend  _ doing? _ Who was this ‘Gilan’? How did Will know him? And why was he sleeping on Will’s couch like some hobo?

Horace cleared his throat, intending to get some answers. Will looked back at Horace, he frowned. Then something Horace assumed was realization filled his eyes. 

Will let go of ’Gilan’. “Um, Horace, meet my brother, Gilan. Gilan, this is Horace, my best friend.” Will gestured between them.

“Wait, but I thought you were an only child?” Horace said as he appraised Gilan. The man looked almost nothing like Will. He was tall with lighter hair and his face was different.

Gilan cocked his head and smiled with what people would describe as a roguish grin. He stuck out a hand. “Halt’s a friend of my father. I spent most of my childhood with him so I’m somewhat of a son to him and a brother to Will.”

Horace shook his hand tentatively. He could feel calluses in the exact same spots Will had from archery. So Gilan was an archer too. At least now he knew something about this mystery man.

“Now, coffee?” Gilan turned and stared hopefully at Will. 

Will stared up at him, unimpressed. “I only made enough for two.”

Gilan instantly deflated.

“But generally Horace and I drink several cups so…”

Gilan beamed at Will, snapping back into ecstasy. It was sort of like watching those weird blow up bendymen, Horace thought. “You are the best little brother in the world. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.” And with that, Gilan shuffled out of the room with his blanket trailing like a cape.

Horace glanced at Will, “So,” he said.

Will looked back at Horace, “So,” he parroted.

“You have a brother.” It sounded strange to Horace’s ears.  _ Will had a brother.  _ One that appeared to have just as bad a coffee addiction.

“Yeah. He’s a junior in college. So he left before we became really great friends and stuff.” Will gestured vaguely.

“But you never mentioned him?”

Will shrugged. “I just never thought about it.”

“It’s fine,” Horace ran a hand through his hair, “just-unexpected.”

Will chuckled. “Gilan seems to have that effect on a lot of people.”


End file.
